In Her Eyes- Part I
by theonlyxception
Summary: Dr. Leanne Rorish was on the last stitch of sewing her three-year-old patient's head when her stomach twisted in knots. Any medical cases having to do with children, still cut her to the core.


Dr. Leanne Rorish was on the last stitch of sewing her three-year-old patient's head when her stomach twisted in knots. Any medical cases having to do with children, still cut her to the core. It had been nearly ten weeks since she had buried her own husband and children and nothing about the loss was getting better.

Even the most minor cases reminded her of what could have been. Her sons had always been jumping off the couch or bed and injuring themselves. Like this little boy, she had stitched her oldest son up in the midnight hour, after her husband had found him crumpled on the floor.

"Okay, Tommy. You are good to go." Leanne stated, pulling her gloves off and throwing them into the trash left of the examination table.

"Really? It's over?" The little boy's muffled reply as she sat up from behind his mother's arm.

"Really." Leanne flashed him a reassuring smile. "Your head is going to make a full recovery. Just don't go jumping off any more beds." She said before looking over at his mother with an amused twinkle in her eye. "Mom, you did great bringing him to the ER. Give the stitches at least two weeks to dissolve and be careful to not submerge his head in any water for at least a week. That goes for shampooing around the area before its fully healed."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Rorish."

"You're welcome." Leanne stated quietly as she exited the room and made a beeline towards the bathroom. However, not before Neal intercepted her in the hall.

"Hey, can we talk?" He asked in a pressing tone as they stood in the middle of the hall. Something about his body language told her this wasn't about their patients or the friendship they had established over the years.

"What's this really about, Neal?"

"You haven't answered any of my calls." He stated, tilting his head to the side in concern.

"I haven't answered a lot of people's calls." Leanne quipped as they walked further down the hall. "As much as I appreciate all the concern coming my way, I'm ready to stop talking about my loss and get back to work."

"That's understandable. Really, it is. But as your doctor and friend, I need to know you're taking care of yourself."

"I'm here, aren't I?" She waved her hands in a circle, gesturing to the hospital. "That alone should tell you I'm taking care of myself."

"Good. So you followed up with your doctor after the accident?" He asked as she tightly pursed her lips together.

"I did. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a matter to take care of so I can get back to my patients." Casting one last look over her shoulder, she smacked the door open with her hand as she disappeared into the bathroom. When she was sure she was alone, Leanne locked the door to the farthest stall and leaned against the cool metal wall.

She had worked at Angel's Memorial for nearly fifteen years and had broken down numerous amount of times in this stall. It was the only place she could find solace when patients had proved more difficult than expected, when she needed to regain her patience with nurses or doctors, or when she needed to grab a few minutes to herself.

Being a doctor was often a thankless job. It kept you on your toes at every moment, with hardly a quiet moment in between. The last time she had been here, she had been worrying about a patient who had been brought into the ER after a car accident. The woman's son and husband were killed and she had survived. Little did Leanne know, she would be in the same situation just three weeks later.

The thought made her stomach turn in knots again, this time causing the bile in her throat to rise as she finally emptied her meager breakfast of coffee and a bagel. Her appetite hadn't returned much since being in the hospital, and it was surprising more people hadn't commented on the weight she had lost since returning to work. However, she had only been back a couple days and opted to deal with patients needing minor care so she had to deal with her patients and not overly concerned doctors and nurses.

As she wiped at her mouth and flushed, the bathroom door opened with that familiar creak as someone entered the room. It was one of the familiar sounds she had heard so many times, yet this time was different; the soft footsteps as if this person didn't want to call attention to themselves, the clinking of bag straps that hit against the sink as they rushed into the first stall, and the soft but unmistakable whisper for the child with them to please stay asleep.

It all seemed like a normal situation. What mother didn't want their child to stay asleep when they had to use the bathroom? It was better they weren't running around screaming, or peeking underneath stalls.

Leanne put her hand to the door, but something in the back of her mind had her quietly listening to the situation. Was that sniffling? No, crying. It was barely audible as if the woman was afraid of being too loud, or maybe she didn't want the child to wake up. Either way, she seemed distressed in the way she spoke.

"I'm so sorry, Maren. I know I haven't been the best big sister this year, but I promise I'll take care of you now that mom and dad are gone. I promise, okay?" Her words came out strangled as she hissed out in pain, which seemed to wake the little girl. "It's okay, please go back to sleep."

As the bathroom quieted once more, it was short-lived as the door opened and Leanne took that as a sign to exit the stall. A woman with stern features gave her a quick hello before disappearing into the middle stall and locked the door behind her.

Leanne could only shake her head as she quickly washed her hands. When she turned to throw away the paper towel, the far right stall finally opened and a woman-no older than eighteen-appeared behind her; a little girl with blonde whispy curls strapped comfortably against her chest.

"Hi." The woman stated shyly as she turned her slightly ashen face towards the mirror. It was clear that the woman didn't want her to see that she wasn't feeling well, so Leanne didn't pester even though something clearly wasn't right with her.

"Hi." Leanne mustered a smile in her direction, then looked down at the sleeping child before turning to leave. When she was making her way down the hall, she heard the bathroom door creak open and light footsteps padding along with her own.

"Abby, what do you got for me?" Leanne inquired to the head nurse as she hung up the phone behind the waiting room desk. Abby was stubborn, smart, organized, and most of all: she minded her own business. A rare combination in a place where everyone thought it was right to know everyone else's business.

"Dr. Rorish, there you are. About ten more came in while you were gone." Abby filled her in while handing her a clipboard. "Looks like your next patient will be Greg Summers, a man who earned a gash in his left arm and on the side of his head."

"Beautiful." Leanne stated sarcastically, fishing out her next patient in a sea of people in the waiting room. "Thank you, Abby."

"I live to work. Let me know when you get tired of stitching people up." She winked before turning back to organize some folders in the large filing cabinet towards the back of the room.

"Greg Summers." Leanne called out among the bustle of the waiting room. She tapped the pen against the clipboard as she looked around. "Greg-"

"That's me." A man with a neatly trimmed beard stood up near the side of the waiting room. He gave her a sheepish smile as he approached, still nursing his arm with a scraggly white rag.

"Mr. Summers." Leanne pulled a pair of purple gloves from her left scrub pocket. "It says here that you fell off your motorcycle and banged yourself up pretty well, is that correct?"

"Yes. And trust me it won't be something I'll do again."

"I would hope not." She sighed as she took a look, then had him follow her. "Abby, what room is open?"

"Room six."

"Follow me." Leanne ushered him through the back of the ER. Upon quick examination, she made a mental note that he only needed four stitches in his arm and two in his head. He had won for being the person needing the most stitches so far today. "At any point, did you hit your head? Blacked out when you fell?"

"No, ma'am."

As they entered the room, Leanne had him sit on the examination, and began asking him questions. The one most important rule she had learned as a doctor was to use good judgment when patients are giving information, for they could be not telling the whole truth.

"Experiencing any dizziness?"

"No."

"How about any nausea or headaches?"

"None. My head and arm hurt where I scraped them on the asphalt, but that's about it."

"Well, then looks like you're a lucky man." Leanne pulled a small flashlight from her pocket. "Look to the left." To which he complied as he looked towards the window. "Now look to the right. Good." She then checked his vision with the ophthalmoscope, then moved on to his smell, hearing and muscles-all which came back normal.

"So, what's the verdict?" He asked after several moments of silence on her part.

"Everything came back normal, but I suggest someone being with you for the next 24 hours just to be sure, and if you experience any symptoms come back to ER immediately."

"Of course." He stated as a nurse with long strawberry hair peeked her head in the room.

"Here's your suture kit." The nurse handed her the package, looking over his wounds as she turned to leave.

"Thank you, Diane." Leanne nodded her appreciation as she pulled his arm towards her so she could examine it.

"Abby wants to see you when you're finished."

"I just saw her a few minutes ago. Is it urgent or can it wait?"

"She mentioned there was someone in the waiting room who won't let anyone near her but she looks pretty ill. Said she would only talk to you."

"Tell Abby I'll find her in a few minutes. This shouldn't take long." Leanne pressed on the skin around the wound on his arm as Diane left the room. "I will have a nurse clean these wound, then I will be back to stitch you up, Mr. Summers."

"Take care of her." He mentioned, referring to the patient Diane was just talking about.

"I always take care of my patients." She pressed a polite smile in his direction before walking out into the hall. "Can you attend to Mr. Summers' wounds in room three?" Leanne inquired to a nurse with flawless olive skin as she stepped out of the exam room next door.

"Yes, Dr. Rorish."

"Come and find me when you're finished." Leanne called over her shoulder as she sighed and walked the remaining steps to the waiting room. Upon seeing her, Abby stood up and rounded the desk.

"Where is she?"

"Near the back of the waiting room." Abby's eyes scanned the seats, until she pointed the woman out who was slumped in the waiting room seat. "Do you know her?"

"No." Leanne stated bodly, not giving any further explanation as she made her way towards her. The woman gazed up at her with widened eyes as she held tightly onto the little girl who was sitting on her lap, clapping her hands. "You know, most people run away when they come to the hospital."

The woman cracked a weak smile as Leanne sat next to her in effort to make her feel more comfortable. "Can't seem to leave."

"Me either. How old?" Leanne asked tipping her chin to the little girl with curly blonde locks.

"Six months." She focused on the floor tiles now as she spoke. "She doesn't look like me at all."

"Sometimes they don't."

"I was so upset when my mom remarried, so I ran away to live with my boyfriend. When I heard she was pregnant, I couldn't get back because I didn't have the money. When Lily was born, she left me some long message about how she had these long fingers and blonde hair. I didn't believe her until she sent me a picture for proof."

"Regardless of what happened between you and your mother, I believe your sister has you for a reason. But you can't take care of her unless you take care of yourself first. Now's the time to tell me what's going on right here, right now."

She looked like she was going to bolt, but relented at the last moment. "My stomach. It's been bugging me since last night."

"What part of your stomach?"

"Right here." Moving Lily to the upper part of her leg, she pointed to the lower part of her abdomen."

"Okay-"

"Mariane."

"Mariane. I'm Dr. Rorish." Leanne introduced as she scooted towards the edge of her seat. "From what I'm hearing, you could have anything from a stomach bug to an abrupted appendix. However, I won't know anything until I have examined you."

"I can't." Mariane began gasping for air in panic. "I can't leave Lily."

"I can have a nurse watch after her for the time being."

"And if something happens after you examine me? What happens to her then?"

"Is there anyone you can have watch after Lily? Someone you would call in case of an emergency."

"There's my dad, but I don't think he would take her. He has his own family." The panic set in once again. "What if he doesn't take her?"

"You leave that to me." Leanne assured her, looking her over with concern. That seemed to calm Mariane a little, but she still looked slightly unsure.

"Okay."


End file.
